OBITUARY–In Memory of H. B. Montgomery
Well-known Carleton Place Auctioneer Henry Burnett Montgomery died in Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital last Thursday March 9, 1989 following a short battle with cancer. He was 86. HB, as he was affectionately known throughout the Ottawa Valley, had a career which spanned 40 years in the auction sale business and despite his illness of recent months he was involved in an auction sale as recently as late August of this year.
A former farmer and butcher he handled as many as three or four auctions a week for years and over the past 26 years teamed with another well respected local auctioneer, Howard McNeely. “I always said the auction sale was part of Burnett and he was part of the auction,” McNeely said Monday in reminiscing about his many years of working with Montgomery. “He was a good fellow to work with, a perfect gentleman with a great respect for everyone,” McNeely fondly recalled. “He worked hard for the person he was doing the sale for, but he was also fair with the person buying the item,” he noted. “In all the years together we never had a (bad) word,” McNeely stated. “We worked a system and he often said to me ‘Howard there aren’t two men in a million who get along as we do,’ and I’d tell him that it was because neither of us was power hungry and we worked for the betterment of all concerned.”
Despite his age Montgomery couldn’t completely quit the auction business. “He’d tell me many times he was going to quit, but he never really did,” McNeely mentioned. In a feature story with appeared in The Canadian in June of 1982 Montgomery said he began auctioneering to help “make ends meet”. At that time he was operating a general store in Ashton.
He was born in Goulbourn Township and later lived in Ashton where he operated the store and a farm. He moved to Carleton Place in the early 1940s where he eventually got into the auction business. Montgomery is survived by his wife Helen and daughters Shirley (Mrs. Don Lashley) and Iola (Mrs. Bob Blackburn) both of Smiths Falls as well as a sister Jean (Mrs. Ted Andison) of Jasper, Ontario, Also by six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Funeral service was held Sunday at 2:30pm at Zion-Memorial United Church in Carleton Place with Rev Wesley Mitchell officiating, Interments was in the United Cemeteries.
Sherri Iona added the following —This was my Poppa. I always wonder why his first wife, my Nana is never mentioned. Laura (Bradley) Montgomery was a teacher a Munster in one room school. They met when Poppa was working in the quarry – where Dogwood Drive now is. He was a couple years younger. Nana who was very active with The United Church died from a long battle with breast cancer in the 1974 at age of 79.
Poppa was actually born in Marlborough township south of Richmond, in the family homestead. He survived the depression, by buying and selling livestock, my paternal grandparents included. He was also the first person in town to have a skidoo and the first person to buy a Pellikan, the precursor to the seadoo.
H.B Burnett, Poppa, with his grandchildren and spouses (at the time). This would be early eighties as my oldest was born in 80, and was 3 when Poppa died.
Related Reading:
In Memory of H B Montgomery
The sad tale of HB’s brother Everett
lindaseccaspina 